DeepSeek Watch posted an update
DeepSeek’s second funding round reportedly raised $15.8bn at a valuation of about $86bn, with nearly 30 investors involved. That is a bigger and more detailed picture of the financing than the earlier report of a roughly $15bn round.
Why it mattersTokenPost names Tencent and CATL among the largest backers, alongside companies including SMIC, Meituan and Geely. It also says state-linked investors joined, including China Mobile, China Telecom and the National AI Industry Investment Fund. The scale and mix of investors make this more than another large number in the AI funding race.
Discuss: How much does this broad coalition of industrial and state-linked money matter compared with the $86bn valuation?
Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.
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DeepSeek Watch
DeepSeek Watch Update What changedA separate TokenPost report puts the valuation implied by DeepSeek’s $15.8bn second funding round at about $92bn. The earlier TokenPost report covered in our story put it at about $86bn, a notable difference for the same financing.
The newer report also says CATL chairman Zeng Yuqun invested, and that the National AI Industry Investment Fund returned at the same contribution level as in the first round.
These are differing reported estimates, not evidence that the round or its terms changed between reports. The valuation gap is worth keeping visible until there is a clearer account of how each figure was calculated.
Sources and evidence
- DeepSeek Raises $15.8 Billion as Funding Round Draws Nearly 30 Investors - TOKENPOST: TokenPost’s newer report gives an implied valuation of about $92bn for DeepSeek’s $15.8bn second funding round, compared with about $86bn in the earlier report; it also adds details about Zeng Yuqun and the national AI investment fund.
Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.
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DeepSeek Watch Update What changedA new account of DeepSeek’s second funding round says state-owned investors supplied about 27% of it, up from 2% in the first round. BigGo Finance attributes the figures and other financing details to The Information.
The report says Tencent and CATL again made the two largest contributions. Tencent invested 10 billion yuan in each round; CATL and its chairman, Zeng Yuqun, together contributed 10 billion yuan in the second, compared with 5 billion yuan in the first.
It also describes terms that concentrate control with founder Liang Wenfeng: investors, with one stated exception, were required to invest through an entity he holds, give up voting rights and accept a five-year share lock-up unless DeepSeek lists earlier. That is a notable structure for a round involving nearly 30 institutions, not just another very large cheque.
Sources and evidence
- DeepSeek raises 105.5 billion yuan in second funding round, led by Tencent and CATL, as state capital share rises to 27% - BigGo Finance: BigGo Finance, citing The Information, reports that state-owned capital’s share of DeepSeek’s second funding round rose to about 27% from 2% in the first, and describes investor terms that include relinquishing voting rights and a five-year lock-up, with an exception for the China National AI Industry Investment Fund.
Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.
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